Santos sees Colombian reelection race tighten

With 50 days to go before Colombia’s May 25 election, the race is tightening for President Juan Manuel Santos. Most major polls show him being forced to defend his administration in a run-off June 15. And some show former Bogotá Mayor Enrique Peñalosa defeating him in that second round.

Less certain is the future of Óscar Ivan Zuluaga, 55, the former small-town mayor and minister of finance, who began the race as a contender thanks to the backing of former President Alvaro Uribe.

Uribe, who remains one of the most popular figures in the country despite being hounded by scandals, was recently elected senator and his Centro Democratico party will be among the leading forces of the new legislature.

But Zuluaga — who is headed to Miami this weekend to raise funds and woo voters —hasn’t seen the bump in polls that some were expecting in the wake of the congressional victory. In a survey released by the Centro Nacional de Consultoría polling firm this week, Santos has 26 percent of the vote, versus Peñalosa with 18 percent and Zuluaga with 14 percent.

The study, which polled 1,500 people and has a margin of error of plus/minus 2.5 percent, also found that Peñalosa would win in a second-round runoff with 41 percent versus Santos’ 36 percent. In a match-up between Santos and Zuluaga, however, the president would win 43 percent versus his challenger’s 32 percent.

On the eve of his trip to South Florida, Zuluaga said he isn’t discouraged.

“It’s an open race,” he told the Miami Herald. “The only thing that’s clear is that the president is not going to win the election.”

Santos, he said, can’t break above the 30 percent mark, which makes him vulnerable. A full 13 percent of voters say they’re undecided.

“He has a ceiling and the opportunity is there to win the presidency,” Zuluaga added.

Three other polls released in recent weeks, however, show Santos winning the second round regardless of the candidate.